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Tag: non-governmental organisation

  • Stakeholders worry over random sinking of boreholes

    Stakeholders in the water and sanitation sector have warned residents of Ekiti State against indiscriminate sinking of boreholes, even as they expressed their fears that the consequences could be grave.

    Rising from a quarterly meeting of Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Clinic held in Ikogosi-Ekiti, they warned that unrestrained sinking of boreholes could cause earth tremor in Ekiti State.

    The event was attended by local and state government actors, civil society organisations, media practitioners and private individuals who were unanimous in their submissions that drastic and holistic approach be employed to halt the trend.

    They regretted that there was an emergence of underground water pollution which is unsafe to human consumption. They blamed unapproved and unspecified sinking of boreholes for it.

    Permanent Secretary, Ekiti State Ministry of Public Utilities, Mr. Olumide Ajayi, warned contractors to always get approval from government agencies before embarking on borehole projects.

    Ajayi cited the examples of earth tremor that occurred recently in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), warning that “there is tendency and likelihood of earth tremor and underhand water pollution to occur in Ekiti.”

    The Permanent Secretary revealed that when the ongoing repair and rehabilitation works at Egbe and Ero Water Dams are completed, the rate at which people sink boreholes would reduce as people would have access to pipe-borne water.

    He explained that good and safe pipe-borne water from surface water are better for human consumption than borehole water.

    Commissioner for Public Utilities, Chief Tunde Ogunleye, said the component of European Union Water Supply Sanitation Sector Reform Programme Phase III (WSSSRPIII) is being realised.

    He noted that the importance of coordination and sustainability in the implementation of the reform programme is central to good access to safe water, good hygiene and sanitation.

    Making particular reference to the non-governmental organisation (NGO) grant from the European Union (EU) which is being implemented by an expert and consultant in the WASH Sector that has begun work in Gbonyin and Ekiti West local government areas respectively, Ogunleye expressed gratitude to development partners.

    The development partners, according to him, include EU, World Bank, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF); WaterAid, WASH Media Network and civil society organisations (CSOs).

    Speaking at the forum, Chairman of Water Resources Regulatory Unit, Mr. Ayodele Osalade, explained that the unit was set up to ensure that water sanitation and hygiene functions are properly carried out.

    He said the unit would also protect the long-term interests of consumers with regard to price quality and reliability of services in the sector.

    EU Institution and Policy expert, Mr. Alaba Ogunsanjo, advised stakeholders and the state government to make water and sanitation major priority in order to have less health-related issues.

    He called on the environment health officers, water consumer association, Federation of Water Sanitation and Hygiene Committee (WASHCOM) at the local government level to domesticate the present WSSSRPIII reforms programme in all the local government areas.

    The Chairman of WASH Media Network in Ekiti, Mr. Wale Ajibade, called on the relevant ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) and the stakeholders to institutionalise the EU Water Resources Reforms Programme in the state.

    Ajibade pointed out that Ekiti is one of the states in Nigeria with high prevalence of open defecation and poor access to potable water supply, adding that efforts need to be made to support the current initiative of the state government and donor agencies to reposition WASH sector in the state.

  • What young people think of corruption

    They thought it essentially revolved around money, and maybe stealing. But at a leadership forum organised for them in Niger State, pupils learned corruption is a consuming monster that can wreck a nation. JUSTINA ASISHANA reports

    It is apparent that many people do not quite know what corruption really means, nor how it can be identified. Of the ignorant lot, young people are probably more.

    In Niger State where a firm engaged some secondary school pupils on the subject, many of them betrayed their limited understanding of the term. Some said it had something to do with money, especially stealing it.

    It took much enlightenment from the Development Initiative of West Africa (DIWA), a non-governmental organisation (NGO), which organised an event for the pupils, before they could understand that corruption is a virus that eats up a nation from every side. It is about money as much as it is about attitudes, policies, even willful negligence.

    DIWA set up a student’s leadership camp on fighting corruption and promoting integrity in Niger State.

    One of the pupils, Jamila Idris said she was not taught corruption in school and was in the dark about what it entails.

    Another, Farida Abubakar, is of the view that corruption is bullying, truancy, cheating in examinations, carrying of chips to the examination hall and being disobedient.

    The leadership camp exposed them to deeper insights.

    Mohammed Farouk said corruption is a bad thing that can destabilise a country and tarnish its image. He is of the view that corruption can be curbed, though, but only if the populace are adequately enlightened on its consequences and its ills.

    “We can curb corruption from our system if we really try hard,” he said. “We can start from the grassroots and enlighten the people that corruption will take them nowhere. We need to let them know that it will cause deaths and loss of properties.”

    Abubakar Sadiq Abdulkadir said  corruption is any bad doing that tarnishes the image of a country and its peace.

    “Before I came to camp, I barely knew anything about corruption but here, I have learnt a lot about corruption especially in schools. I learnt that corruption is about malpractices and cheating, that corruption is all around us. It is any wrongdoing we engage in.”

    Farida Abubakar said that at the camp, she learnt how to teach her colleagues not to engage in corruption by encouraging them to do what is right.

    Jamila Idris said thanks to the camp, she has learnt a lot on corruption especially corruption in the school system.

    “I never knew bullying was corruption or asking for more money than you need from your parents by padding your school list. Now I have a lot to teach my colleagues. “

    The Chief Executive Officer of DIWA, Dauda Kanneh said that the need to clean up the minds of the younger generation and prepare them for a corruption-free life. Young people need to be aware of the dangers of corruption, and learn the ingredients of integrity as a foundation for leadership.

    He stressed the need for teenagers and youths to begin to appreciate the tendencies of accountability and integrity and accept that corruption is a cancer that can eat deep into the nation.

    Dauda said that most of the students, on resumption to the camp, had a narrow view of corruption.

    He said, “All they knew was that corruption had to do with money, they never knew that the issue of nepotism and favoritism are also issues around corruption. We try to let them know that corruption is not only centered around money but anything that does not follow due process. I am sure we have tried to broaden their understanding of corruption.”

    He lamented that the high level of corruption in all sectors of the country can only be eradicated by inculcating moral values in the students as future leaders through effective teachings in Islamic and Christians religious knowledge.

    According to him, the rate of corruption in the education sector has become alarming, adding that it was not restricted to financial fraud but also examination malpractice, cultism, truancy and padding of lists of items required by students to parents.

    “Studies have shown that it is corruption through fraud and embezzlement that has deprived Nigeria children especially from poor families the opportunities to be educated and enjoy other social amenities. Therefore we feel that we should support government in the struggle to fight corruption. Our programme is also helping global communities to fight corruption.

    “We are interested in educational systems that have moral values. We have advised that education system should have moral values and teachings from both Islamic and Christian religions. It is believed that once you have religiously conscious people you are more likely to have less corrupt environment”.

    The Programme Manager, Musa said that 180 students from 24 secondary schools across Niger state were participating in the five days leadership training workshop tagged “effective use of student leaders in fighting corruption and promoting integrity in Nigeria”.

    The students also had a walk around Minna to sensitise people on the dangers of corruption.

  • How to preserve Lagos, by experts

    Climate change is a global threat. Lagos State, with its peculiar topography, has become the focus of attention. Environmental experts have warned that the Centre of Excellence risks being submerged, if steps are not taken, MUYIWA LUCAS reports.

    Environmentalists have warned that Lagos, like cities threatened by climate change, may be wiped out by 2050.

    By 2030, the state might be under water, if urgent steps were not taken by  the government to arrest the situation.

    The environmentalists, who met in Lagos, under the aegis of the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF), a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), based their submission on their studies.

    Using illustrations and images, the experts explained that the precarious situation was not unconnected with the effect of waves from the Atlantic Ocean, which they said was growing rapidly, eating the shorelines of Lagos oceans and coastlines.

    Since this encroachment of the ocean effect started in the 1960s, they said, about 1.5 kilometres of the Lagos shoreline had been washed away.

    Its Technical Programme Director, Dr Joseph Onoja, painted  a lurid picture of the development, further lending credence to the environmental danger ahead.

    Onoja explained that the safety felt in the early years of this millennium, when coastal communities such as Igbo-Efon, Okun-Ajah, Okun-Alfa and Lafiaji, stood at about 13,000 metres from the Kuramo beach waters, had disappeared, hence making the fear of coastal erosion real.

    For instance, he said in a survey on Okun-Alfa community, the distance between a particular house, a road and the shoreline was about 109 metres as at May 2000. Regrettably, Onoja said, by May 2013, the road had been washed away, while between December 2015 and April 2016, the distance between the community and the shoreline had shortened from 47 to 33 metres.

    The group’s Chairman, Ede Dafinone, who led the campaign for coastal communities along the Lekki axis, said beach erosion began with the construction of the Apapa Port.

    According to him,  while the construction of the Eko Atlantic City (EAC) helped to save the Bar Beach and parts of Victoria Island from the ravaging effect of erosion, the movement of the ocean wave eastwards has not helped matters.

    By implication, this means that the effect of the ocean control of the Bar Beach with the EAC might have further influenced the erosion in other parts of the states, and even beyond.

    Dafinone said  the NCF has raised its concerns with the state government, adding that the  state needed the support of the Federal Government to protect it and the  country’s shoreline.

    He warned that failure to assist the state government to protect the shorelines would lead to unpalatable effect, which will resonate in other other parts of the country.

    The NCF helmsman regretted that while the state government has constructed 15 groins, covering up to 14 kilometres of the coastline, it has had to put the project on hold due to paucity of funds. The Nation learnt that it cost about N1 billion to construct a groin.

    Way forward

    To avoid a spillover effect of shoreline erosion, the NCF suggested that the groins should be constructed up to Escravos, in Warri, Delta State, while there should be basic law enforcement on sand mining.

    According to NCF Director-General, Muhtari Aminu-Kano, there was need to construct the groins to Escravos because waves from the Niger Delta had started moving westwards as those from Lagos were moving eastwards.

    “We need a proper and comprehensive assessment of our marine environment to show how far we need to take the groins,” he said.

    Aminu-Kano charged the managers of Ecological Fund to look at the issues critically to solve the problem, while advocating that the society should go green by planting trees.

    Dafinone further warned that the situation portends a potential disaster, which the government  could avert.

    According to him, if 10 metres of the shoreline have been lost in six months, then it tells of what the future holds because nature is not predictable. For now, he said the only potential solution remains  constructing groins.

    Onoja shared Dafinone’s position. He said the situation required the urgent attention and partnership of the Federal Government to intervene through the construction of groins.

    “The Federal Government needs to rise to this challenge. The speed of the wave is alarming and we are talking of waves capable of wiping out communities in a matter of hours. Not only that, our groundwater, humans and the biodiversity will be affected,” he said.

    Lending his voice to the call for Federal Government’s support,  Lekki Urban Forest and Animal Sanctuary Initiative Chairman, Mr. Desmond Majekodunmi, called for a restart of groin construction.

    “We cannot be sitting down and waiting for the worse to happen. Once we have the groins, Lagos can have lovely beaches that can attract tourism,” the environmentalist said.

  • 2019 elections: ActionAid seeks active participation of women, youths, PWD

    A Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), has called for the active participation of women, youths and Persons Living with Disabilities (PWD) in the 2019 general elections.

    Mrs Ene Obi, Country Director, AAN, made this call in Abuja on Thursday at the Dissemination Meeting on Strengthening Citizens’ Engagement in Electoral Process (SCEEP).

    Obi said that SCEEP was a project that aimed at responding to the growing need to strengthen the inclusion of citizens in the electoral process.

    She said that the project, implemented by ActionAid and BBC Media Trust, yielded results through extensive mobilisation of Nigerians in the 2015 general elections.

    According to her, elections are not an end in itself; it lays the framework for the social contract between the people and their elected leaders and ensures leaders are held accountable.

    “This means that at all times citizens must stay engaged to ensure accountability and responsiveness in governance.

    “As part of its efforts in ensuring this, the project used the ActionAid’s reflection and action methodology to develop Community Development Charters (CDC) in 180 communities.

    Read Also: INEC, CSOs urges parties to give opportunities to women, disabled

    Obi further noted that the CDC had also provided the impetus for communities to ensure service delivery and hold leaders and institutions accountable.

    She also said that the CDC had been used as an agenda setting tools in various Local Government elections engaging citizens in the build up to the 2019 elections.

    “Citizens have right to be part of the process through which leaders emerge and as part of our work, we have seen the emergence of platforms at the sub-national levels.

    “This will drive a functional relationship between the people and the managers of electoral process, supporting and working with agencies including Independent National and State Independent Electoral Commissions, the National Orientation Agency, the Police and other security agencies.

    She added that a lot had changed in the country’s socio-economic and political landscape after the 2015 elections with strong implication for the 2019 general elections.

    She, therefore, said that the possibilities and gains of an electoral process would be fully harnessed when citizens were integrated in the electoral processes.

    Obi, however, promised support for the inclusion of PWDs, young people and women in the 2019 general elections, saying their exclusion was key challenge highlighted by the SCEEP target groups in 2015 post-election audit.

    Earlier, Dr Jummai Ajijola, Board Chairperson, AAN, said the SCEEP campaign would focus on supporting grassroots effort in deepening democratic practice.

    She commended the support received from the Department for International Development (DFID) toward the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

    Also, Mr Oliver Blake, Head of Governance and Social Development, DFID, pledged to strengthen support for ActionAid, Federal Government and other organisations involved in the electoral process.

    Blake also promised to assist in putting in place models and ways of working that would improve the electoral process in the country.

    Rilwan Abdullahi, National President, National Association of Persons with Disability, called on political parties and electoral management bodies to create the space for PWD.

    He was optimistic that the 2019 elections would consider PWD in electoral process because the SCEEP project had encouraged political parties, who had started embracing PWD in their processes.

    Dr Tafida Abubakar-Ila, the Sarkin Rano of Kano, also pledged the readiness of traditional institutions toward encouraging women, youths and PWD to be engaged in the 2019 general elections.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the SCEEP project was supported by DFID aimed at mobilizing citizens, especially women, youths and PWD to participate and influence the electoral process.

    It is also aimed at promoting the emergence of politically better informed electorate while promoting inclusiveness in the Nigerian electoral system.

    NAN

  • IPOB’s terrorists are regrouping ahead of 2019 elections – Group

    A Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), the Independent Human Rights And Crime Monitoring Group, has disclosed that the proscribed terrorists of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) are regrouping, ahead of the 2019 elections.

    It also hinted that in spite of the secession attempts and propaganda by IPOB, the people of the Southeast zone of Nigeria actually wanted a return of the military operation, codenamed Python Dance II, to the zone. 

    The NGO, through its Executive Director, Zineke Werigbelegha, on Tuesday in Port Harcourt, revealed that the situation in the Southeast had grown into proportion that would require concerted efforts to neutralise the threats.

    It said: “The group commissioned an assessment of Operation Python Dance II, with a view to learning vital lessons that would help avoid identified shortcomings. The assessment was restricted to the Southeast geo-political zone of the country, where separatists of the defunct Biafra Republic are active.

    “The report confirmed that Operation Python Dance II was the most successful military operation in the Southeast till date.

    “The Nigerian Army conducted Operation Python Dance in September 2016 as a training drill for troops, at a time the entire Southeast was reeling from a wave of crimes like kidnap for ransom, banditry, extortion and illicit drugs related crimes that were proving to be beyond the civil police.

    “Separatist movements that were uncomfortable with what the operation could expose about their activities, mounted campaigns to discredit the exercise, with a strategy aimed at turning the populace against the army. It was later discovered that separatist groups like IPOB, Biafra Independent Movement (BIM), Biafra Zionist Movement (BZM) and their other variants were behind the mentioned crimes, with the proceeds used to finance their secessionist bid.

    Read Also: IPOB: Court grants Kanu’s co-defendants bail

    “The successful conduct of Operation Python Dance restored peace and sense of security to the states in the Southeast, with indigenes of the five states of Abia, Imo, Anambra, Enugu and Ebonyi being able to freely travel home without apprehension.

    “The Nigerian Army heeded the call by the populace with Operation Python Dance II, which came at a time when IPOB had become belligerent in its call for the break-up of Nigeria. However, Operation Python Dance II was able to dismantle the terror cells and infrastructure of IPOB and other groups that operated based on its ideology.

    “Residents of the Southeast are asking that Operation Python Dance be sustained and turned into an annual exercise that will provide avenue to root out the criminals.”

    The group also revealed that as a retaliation for proscribing IPOB, members of the terrorist group were shopping for justification to disrupt elections in the Southeast next year, which it said must not be allowed, in order not to threaten the unity and corporate existence of Nigeria.

    It called on the Nigerian army and the Federal Government to intensify efforts to dismantle the propaganda arm of IPOB, led by its spokesperson, Emma Powerful.

  • 25 trained in First Aid skills

    No fewer than 25 youths have been trained, in basic First Aid skills in Benin City, the Edo State capital, by Life Savers Initiative for First AID Education Nigeria (LifeSaversNG), a non-governmental organisation (NGO).

    The  training tagged: #Pulse4Beats 1.0, was held at the Medical Complex of the University of Benin (UNIBEN).

    Welcoming participants, founder of the NGO Eddy Uwoghiren, a 500-Level Medicine and Surgery student, stated that 174 applications were received and the successful ones were selected based on strong passion expressed.

    According to him, the organisation has the vision to create a society where the populace will have basic First AID skills, adding that the NGO’s mission is to impact communities by equipping people with First AID education.

    He said: “Prompt pre-hospital care is necessary to improve outcome of road traffic accident victims. However, this service is suboptimal in Nigeria and some developing countries because of lack of Emergency Medical Services (EMS).

    “Training of lay responders in First AID skills is a means of closing this gap in EMS. Statistics has it that nine out of 10 Nigerians lack basic First AID skills as against America’s three out 10. This dearth of First AID knowledge has led to an increase in death rate in during times of emergencies and a poor ranking of Nigeria’s Heath sector.”

    Uwoghiren praised the Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Academics, Pius Iribhogbe, a professor of Trauma Surgery, for his support.

    Ofure Efeovbokhan, a facilitator, engaged the participants on importance of First AID and challenge of emergency response in the country.

    Micah Iduitua, a paramedic staff at the Accident and Emergency Department of UNIBEN Teaching Hospital (UBTH), took the participants through Basic Life Support Skills (BLS), including airway opening manoeuvres, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, (CPR), mouth to mask ventilation, bad valve mask ventilation, choking relief and haemorrhage control.

    Other components of his lectures included techniques to respond to snake bites, drug overdose, syncope, opioid overdose and maintaining C spine and recovery position.

    After the training, participants tested their skills by simulating emergency response techniques they learnt, using dummies.

    Also, leaders of the Red Cross Society in UNIBEN educated participants on the workings of the organisation.

    At the end of the training, the participants were presented with certificates of participation.

    Charity Anieobe-Asekharen hailed the organisers, describing the training as timely. She called on government at all levels to support polices geared towards making First AID education compulsory for young people as it is being done in Israel.

  • Democracy Day: Group lauds Buhari for creating employment for youths

    A Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), based in Gombe, Dandalin-Matasa Initiative for Rapid Development, has lauded President Muhammadu Buhari administration for creating employment opportunities for thousands of Nigerian youths.

    The NGO said in Gombe on Tuesday that it was committed to building young people towards better society through capacity building and other areas.

    Speaking with our reporters, Executive Director, Mr Bachama Yusuf, said in the last three years of Buhari’s stewardship, youth in the country were given priority through various programmes that were introduced.

    “In the area of youth empowerment, we have seen conscious effort by the government in bringing youths to a new level in terms of their lives and development.

    “Youth were empowered and given opportunity to be self-reliant, particularly through the N-power where thousands are benefiting.

    “Now young people have more confidence in the political and governance system in Nigeria.

    “Before it was like all hopes were lost; because everything has to do with whom you know.

    Read Also: Democracy Day: Lawmaker lauds Buhari

    “However, President Buhari-led administration saw that as long as you have a genuine cause, citizen can decide and bring whoever they want to bring on board.

    He further said in spite the achievements there were areas that need improvement, adding that youths were not adequately represented in the present administration.

    “Looking at the cabinet, how many young people are in government, for instance the Minister for Youth is not a young person.

    “From the initial stage, we thought Minister for Youth will be a young person at least not less than 40 years that knows the plight of the youth.

    “I am appealing to the government to look at the possibility of involving more youths.

    “Please, Mr President, we want to be seeing the faces of youth at the helm of affairs at various levels,” he pleaded.

    Yusuf, therefore, called on the government to introduce additional initiative to augment the N-Power.

    NAN

  • NGO kicks against abortion

    A non-governmental organisation (NGO) under the Catholic Church, Pro-life League, has called for the abolition of abortion, saying those who commit it are guilty of killing innocent beings.

    At a rally at the National Stadium Surulere, Lagos, by  St. Denis Catholic Church, Bariga, titled: ‘Match for life’, the church drew attention of the public to the dangers of abortion and to enlighten the youth on the way to live a life of chastity.

    The founder, Mechelin Iketalu said the organisation wants the world to know that there were still people who stand against abortion.

    She said: ”We want to let the world know that there is a group of people who are fighting to stop the issue of abortion because nobody has any right to take anybody’s life. We are an NGO under the Catholic Church and we accommodate everyone”.

    Iketalu, who also spoke on restoring respect for human life, said  people should understand that the child in the womb is a being with a separate heart, soul, body and all components of a person and there is a moral burden to guide the baby with our lives.

    She added: “There is no such thing as an unwanted pregnancy because every child comes from God.”

    At the event were two members of the NGO, were Miss Chukuwma Matilda and Miss Esther Nwokocha, who after being counselled by a priest, changed their minds on abortion, and they gave birth to a baby boy and a baby girl.

     

  • Centre urges Buhari to sign Disability Bill

    Centre for Citizens with Disability ( CCD ), a Non-Governmental Organisation ( NGO ), has appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari not to deny or delay assent to the Disability Bill whenever it is transmitted to him by National Assembly.

    Executive Director of the centre, Mr David Anyaele, made the appeal at a stakeholder’s forum on Thursday in Abuja, to examine the state of the bill at the National Assembly.

    President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, had on February 28, promised to ensure that the bill was transmitted to the president within 30 days for his assent.

    Anyaele said that it was the intention of the group to ensure that the bill become a law in order to guarantee full integration of people-living-with-disabilities into the society.

    He commended the House of Representatives for adopting the conference report on the bill.

    “We also thank the senate for its commitment to get the report of the conference committee adopted within 10 days.

    “We use this opportunity to appeal to President Muhammadu Buhari to assent to the Disability Bill as soon as it appears in his office.

    Read Also: 2019: The debts Buhari must pay

    “It is only by assenting to the bill that we can create access for people with disability to benefit from this government,’’ Anyaele said.

    According to him, it is imperative to assent to the bill because section 42 of the 1999 Constitution is silent on the issue of disability.

    Anyaele decried a situation where traditional beliefs and practices had continued to stigmatise those living with disability.

    He said that the practices were preventing people with disability from participating on equal bases with other members of the society.

    “More than 25 million Nigerians are living with one form of disability or the other with more than 80 per cent of them living in rural areas with limited access to social infrastructure.

    “Only eight of the 36 states in the federation have disability bills, thereby making Nigeria a difficult terrain to dwell with disability.

    “People with disability have been clamouring for protection from harmful practices, discrimination and all forms of abuses,’’ Anyaele added.

    NAN

  • NGO expresses concern over kidnappings, killings of health workers

    NGO expresses concern over kidnappings, killings of health workers

    An International Non-Governmental Organisation ( NGO ), Ethics Resource Centre Nigeria, on Friday expressed concern over the spate of alleged kidnappings and killings of medical and health workers in Nigeria.

    Mr Ike Onyechere, the Chairman of the organisation, who expressed this view in an interview with the News men in Abuja, described the trend as an impediment to quality healthcare delivery.

    Onyechere also identified insecurity as contributing factors to the nation’s poor health indices.

    The chairman said that the organisation in collaboration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council, medical doctors, nurses and midwives, Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN), Radiographers, Nigeria Defence Academy, among others would hold national conference in March.

    According to him, the conference is aim at addressing security challenges confronting health workers and patients.

    The chairman specifically gave instances of health workers and patients being kidnapped and killed in recent past.

    The most recent ones, according to him, is the kidnapping of Dr Emem Udoh, Senior Registrar, Department of Paediatrics University of Calabar Teaching Hospital on Jan. 9 and a-day-old baby that was stolen on Jan. 10, in Tudun Wada, Kaduna.

    He, however, described the situation as unhealthy for the nation’s health system.

    Onyechere said addressing security challenges was the surest way to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3 (SDG3) on ensuring healthy lives for all by 2030 in the country.

    He said: “Unless the security challenge is successful addressed and resolved in the spirit of collective responsibility of all critical stakeholders, the UN SDG 3 of ensuring healthy lives for all by 2030 will be difficult to achieve in Nigeria”.

    The chairman noted that the conference slated for March 7 would feature the Nurses and Midwifery Council, Nurses and Midwives, Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN) Medical doctors, dental consultants, pharmacists, Nigerian Defense Academy, among others.

    Read Also: NGOs, others seek NOSDRA Act’s amendment

    Onyechere identified activities lined for the programme to include publication and circulation of Medical and Health Workers Security Manual and security awareness capacity building in all states of the federation.

    According to him, highlight of the conference will include inauguration of Medics Security Joint Action Group, which will serve as the inter-agency coordinating forum for central rapid reporting and recording of incidents involving health workers.

    “The group will also serve as integrated and coordinated liaison with Federal, state and local governments and security agencies for better response, integrated alert systems on actual and potential security threats in particular environment.

    “The group will as well give technical assistance in terms of risk assessment and emergency preparedness among others,” he said.

    Similarly, Dr Friday Omolei, the Chairman, National Committee on Security of Medical Doctors, said the conference was geared toward addressing complex issues of terrorism, kidnapping ravaging the health system.

    Omolei said the menace was one of the factors responsible for the rate of maternal, newborn and under-five mortality.

    Omolei, who described the issue of insecurity in health sector as trending, noted that it had impacted negatively on health care delivery specifically maternal, neonatal and under-five mortality.

    “As a result of this issue of insecurity immunisation efforts are disrupted, healthcare workers and families relocate from these unsafe areas to areas of safety.

    “Government rather than focusing on providing healthcare services spend such efforts on how to resolve these kidnapping issues and kidnapped victims.

    “This inter-agency collaborative approach will yield better results in terms of stopping the increasing tide of medical professionals relocating from insurgency and kidnap prone environments, which is making public access to healthcare deliver harder.

    “Due to the challenge as well maternal, neonatal, under five and other mortality ratios and indices worse,” he said.

    NAN